Chateau French Restaurant & Wine Bar at BB Park

The Bukit Bintang area in Kuala Lumpur is well known for its vibrant blend of shopping, dining and entertainment. At the heart of Bukit Bintang, next to Low Yat Plaza, you’ll find a hidden treasure called BB Park. It epitomizes everything vibrant about the area, with a beer garden, pizzeria, restaurants offering local and international cuisines, as well as local handicraft stalls and a potpourri of cultural performances nightly. A haven for tourists and locals alike, the bustling activity sets the scene for a lively night out.

Standing proudly on the corner, a flashing red sign announces the presence of a French inspired Wine Bar called Chateau at BB Park.

Ronald Binati, Restaurant Manager of Chateau, tells us that their focus is on wines, and they serve food to complement that.

With almost 80% of the wines directly imported from France, and the other 20% a combination of New World wines from Chile, Australia and New Zealand, you are spoilt for choice.

Ronald himself is trained as a wine somelier and spent many years in France absorbing the knowledge and culture of wine. He spends his days teaching at a renowned local School of Hospitality, and his nights imparting his wine expertise on guests of Chateau.

Yin (Red Breakfast Producer), Alvin (Photographer) and I perused the menu and sipped on Chateau’s house red wine, Le Sanglier, 2007, priced very reasonably at RM75++.

The menu was limited, yet offered a little something for everyone. Choose from nibbles and snacks like chicken wings, calamari, fried crab claw, thin crust Pizzas like ‘Le Roquefort’, and main courses like Grilled Lamb Rack and Cube Rolls Steak.

Soup

Mushroom Cream Soup – RM10.90++

Fresh mushrooms stewed with garlic and cream, then blended together to form a fragrant, textured soup. A very flavourful soup.

Appetizer

Garlic Bread – RM5++

This was a crisp baguette, sliced , buttered and baked with cheese. Yin and I both thought it complemented the mushroom soup very well.

Pan-fried Foie Gras with fig in vodka sauce – RM48++

Slivers of melt-in your-mouth foie gras sat in the middle of the plate, soaked in a light sauce made from stock and vodka reduction. I liked the combination of the sweet, soft figs and the savoury, seared duck liver.

First, the base is smothered in a thick cream cheese. Next, a smattering of toppings is added, layer by layer. Finally, a generous sprinkling of grated mozarella, and into the oven it goes. Shortly after, the pizza is removed from the oven and set on our table. We bit into a light and fluffy crust, with stringy cheese and tasty toppings.

Main Course

Codfish ‘Papilotte’ – RM 39.90++

‘Papilotte’ is actually a French method of cooking, by putting the food into a folded pouch or parcel and baking it. The parcel holds in moisture to steam the food, and that’s exactly how the codfish was cooked. Sealed in the aluminium foil pouch, the fish retained the flavours of the olives, white wine, potato, tomato and basil it was cooked with.

Classic Bistro Food

Grilled Pork Chop served in mushroom sauce – RM25.90

A tender pork chop, grilled and smothered with a thick mushroom gravy. Served with coleslaw and crinkle cut French fries.

Striploin in black pepper sauce – RM31.90++

With all of Chateau’s meat dishes, you can choose between mushroom sauce or black pepper sauce. As we’d already had the former with the pork chop, we opted for the latter for the beef. “Cut from the short loin, the strip steak consists of a muscle that does little work, and so it is particularly tender.” The sauce was dense and peppery, and the meat juicy and full of flavour. Just like the pork chop, it was accompanied with homemade coleslaw and crinkle cut French fries.

Dessert

Crème brûlée – RM19++

‘Crème brûlée’ is actually French for “burnt cream”. Chateau’s version was a generous portion of a custard base topped with a contrasting layer of caramelized sugar.

Chocolate mousse – RM 16++

Yin and Alvin thought the Chocolate mousse was the best dish we’d tasted all evening. I dug in and I must say, I have to agree with them. Bittersweet chocolate and egg whites whipped into a rich, airy, creamy dessert. Top marks for this one.

I asked Ronald how he would best describe the food at Chateau, and he replied honestly and from the heart. “It’s simple, homely food, inspired by French cuisine, and cooked to complement our wines.”

Roland, I agree with you entirely! Simple, hearty, bistro-like food is what you’ll get at Chateau French Restaurant & Wine Bar at BB Park.